Adaptation Strategies for Flooding Risk from Rainfall Events in Southeast Spain: Case Studies from the Bajo Segura, Alicante

The management of runoff during torrential rainfall events is a significant problem in urban areas of southeast Spain. The increase in soil sealing and the occupation of areas prone to flooding have aggravated this problem. Due to this situation, municipal administrations, in collaboration with the concession holder for the supply of water and sewage services, Hidraqua Gestión Integral de Aguas de Levante SA, are committed a more efficient management of non-conventional water resources. An example of this can be found in the municipalities of Rojales, Daya Nueva, and San Fulgencio. These towns are located in the Bajo Segura region of the province of Alicante, where various initiatives have been implemented that break away from the traditional paradigm of rigid infrastructures. These initiatives include green spaces or areas, and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) or nature-based solutions (NBS). This article presents various case studies. Firstly, in the town of Rojales, where several actions are being undertaken to improve the management of wastewater and rainwater and provide a solution to unauthorised dumping, as well as encouraging the use of reclaimed water with the creation of a recreational green area, El Recorral Park. Secondly, in the case of Daya Nueva, the Europa Park constitutes a recreational green area, Europa Park, facilitates runoff drainage by SUDS and NBS. Finally, the creation of a floodable pond in the municipality of San Fulgencio encourages the use of wastewater, thus avoiding the discharge of this non-conventional water resource into the sea. In addition, the pond facilitates the appropriate management of runoff water. The working method in this article has been twofold: firstly, bibliographical references have been consulted from other national and international areas; and secondly, the technical projects in the case studies have been analysed in detail. Several field trips have been made to the selected municipalities, accompanied by the technical personnel in charge of the execution of the projects, to examine the measures adopted. The results show that the implementation of these systems contributes to adapting to climate change and creates more resilient urban spaces.

Urban Green Innovation Ecosystem to Improve the Environmental Sustainability

This chapter is aimed to analyze the relationships between environmental sustainability, urban ecosystems, and green innovation. The method employed is the critical analytical review of literature and further discussion on the issues focusing the city´s experience on managing the formulation, generation, development, implementation and evaluation of new behaviors and ideas in green innovation. It is concluded that the green innovation is directly related with the environmental sustainability and urban ecosystems. The interest of this analysis lies in providing support to urban settlements in managing the risks inherent in green area innovation, incremental or radical as a community’s management would experience in relation to the environmental sustainability in urban ecosystems.

Analysis of the contribution of urban Innovation Ecosystem to Environmental Sustainability

This paper is aimed to analyze the relationships between environmental sustainability, urban ecosystems and green innovation. The method employed is the critical analytical review of literature and further discussion on the issues focusing the city´s experience on managing the formulation, generation, development, implementation and evaluation of new behaviors and ideas in green innovation. It is concluded that the green innovation is directly related with the environmental sustainability and urban ecosystems. The interest of this analysis lies in providing support to urban settlements in managing the risks inherent in green area innovation, incremental or radical as a community’s management would experience in relation to the environmental sustainability in urban ecosystems.

Simulation Study on the Effect of Sponge Transformation in Old Neighborhoods Based on XP Drainage Model Construction

To address the practical application of runoff reduction and control effects of sponge measures at the building plot scale, XP Drainage was applied to construct a hydrological-hydraulic model and systematically analyze the runoff reduction and control effects of three typical sponge measures, such as storage pond, recessed green space and permeable pavement, by setting up and simulating sponge modification scenarios [1]. The results show that the effect of flood peak reduction and control is recessed green area > storage pond > permeable pavement, the effect of runoff reduction and control is storage pond > recessed green area > permeable pavement, and the effect of various sponge measures on rainfall runoff reduction and delay is good for the recurrence period below 1 in 10 years, and when the rainfall recurrence period reaches 1 in 10 years and above, the proportion of runoff and flood peak reduction decreases to different degrees, and the effect of rainfall storage for high recurrence period is not The results of the study can provide important reference values for the transformation of sponge measures in Xi’an urban districts.

Evaluation of Street in Luohu District of Shenzhen on Semantic of Street Image

Based on the theoretical extension of the greening vision and the application practice of streetscape big data, the average green vision rate within the planned green area coverage block of Luohu District, Shenzhen is calculated by PHOTOSHOP and FCN software, and the differences in spatial distribution and current status characteristics between its 3D green vision rate and the management unit control guidance map of Shenzhen Green Space System Planning (2014-2030) are explored, and the results show that the green space rate in the main urban area of Luohu District, Shenzhen is 36.78%, which is much better than the average level of major cities in the world, but there is still a gap compared with the management unit control guidance map of Shenzhen Green Space System Planning (2014-2030), and this paper proposes optimization suggestions for the current deficiency.

DNA metabarcoding unveils the effects of habitat fragmentation on pollinator diversity, plant-pollinator interactions, and pollination efficiency in tropical islands

Habitat fragmentation is known to affect biodiversity, but the impact on pollinators and their interactions with plants is still unclear in anthropized landscapes. Islands are open-air laboratories for ecological studies with simplified communities and interactions, suitable to disentangle how land-use alteration impacts pollination ecology and its ecosystem service. Here, we used Maldives islands as model systems to investigate how pollinator richness, their mutualistic interactions with plants, and pollination efficiency are shaped by the degree of green area fragmentation (i.e., gardens, parks and semi-natural green covered patches), by considering both community- and species-level responses. To do this, we surveyed pollinators from 11 islands showing a gradient of green area fragmentation. In order to characterize the interactions between plants and pollinators and obtain a novel and comprehensive view of the key ecological dynamics, a DNA metabarcoding approach was adopted to identify the pollen carried by pollinators. We found that green area fragmentation at intermediate levels played positive effects on pollinator richness. However, fragmentation decreased interaction network complexity. Intriguingly, body size mediated the effect of landscape alteration on plant-pollinator interactions, as only the largest bee species expanded the foraging breath in terms of transported pollen richness at increasing fragmentation. In parallel, the pollination efficiency increased with pollinator species richness in two sentinel plants. This study shows that moderate landscape fragmentation of green areas shapes the ecosystem service of pollination, where in spite of interactions being less complex and mediated by pollinator body size, pollinator biodiversity and potential plant reproduction are supported.

Green roofs – good regulatory practices with potential to be applied in Bulgaria and North Macedonia

Green roofs are used worldwide to mitigate the impacts of extensive urbanization, bringing benefits on social, economic, and environmental levels. In order to promote and facilitate the construction of green roofs by private investors, many countries have developed specific legislative requirements and incentives. However, there still are countries where the construction of green roofs is not properly addressed in the legislation, and where no incentive mechanisms are developed.  The good practices in three European countries, leaders in regards to the implementation of green roofs – the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, are analyzed in this article. A variety of incentives is introduced to accelerate the construction of green roofs. Different requirements are also set to ensure that the roofs will be designed and maintained to provide the desired benefits. The existing local regulations in Bulgaria and North Macedonia were analyzed as well. The only incentive in Bulgaria is the possibility of reducing the legally required green area by compensating it with a green roof. In North Macedonia, no legislative documents or incentives related to green roofs were found. The regulations, applied in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and other countries can be used as good practice examples, modified, and applied from the authorities of countries that still have not developed their own, in order to motivate the investors and facilitate the construction of green roofs.